Wow...I can't believe it has been almost a year since my last blog. I guess I have been so busy focusing on my new job (kinda newish still) and kickboxing that I completely forgot.
The past couple of months I have been focusing on my career development in the Marketing/Advertising Agency. Since end of October I started a new job as an Account Manager at Wunderman for the Kraft Diabetes Account. I am currently enjoying learning new things about Marketing and CRM, constantly learning new things about offline and online marketing, how creative is developed and how much work is put into it. Briefs, estimates, creative, studio, etc. Who knew?
I have also been kickboxing the past 3 months. I somehow got talked into sparring so I started to train seriously. I had my first in-house fight on March 22nd. It was probably one of the most intense experiences of my life. Now that the weather is much nicer, I will be keeping myself out of the gym and running along the Lakeshore in the mornings. So, I guess no more kickboxing for me until next Winter. Kickboxing did some good bruising on my shins. I want to make sure I have summer legs for those summer dresses. I also like getting my runs out of the way so that I can have free time to myself as soon as I am done work. I didn't really have so much free time when I was kickboxing, I would go there straight from work and spend almost 3 hours at the gym 3 times a week. Talk about intense training eh?
I will be keeping up to date on my blog with new more news on my little Sylvia Nguyen, and other talented music artists like Alistair Blaik Bundale and Miles Jones.
When you have a chance, check them out on myspace.
Sylvia Nguyen
www.myspace.com/sylavale
Alistair Blaik Bundale
www.mysace.com/alistairblaikbundale
Miles Jones
www.myapce.com/mojorecordings
About Me
- Elly Pham
- Seoul, Korea
- I'm a 27 year old young Marketing and Advertising Professional looking to continue gaining experience and learning different streams of Marketing and Advertising. Although I enjoy the industry, I've decided to take a break and to teach English in South Korea and travel South East Asia. This new journey will allow me to learn about another culture, meet new people, and most importantly, see a bit more of the world.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Undiscovered Star - Sylvia Nguyen
How do you define the definition of a talented music artist? How do you compare the talent of one music artist to another?
I know a talented young 17 year old girl who has the vocals of Mariah Carey and writes deep meaningful lyrics that express the experiences of a young woman. At the age of 3 she started singing and entered talent competitions at the age of 10. At the age of 13 she picked up the guitar, google searched guitar chords and taught herself how to play. She wrote her first song in 15 minutes at the age of 15 when she was told she had her first gig at the Executive Snooker Club in Mississauga just so she can have one non-cover song to play.
This girl I know happens to be my younger half sister, Sylvia Nguyen. I know that most of you think that I am being a biased, but I'm not. I know an amazing voice when I hear it, I know a catchy song when it touches my soul to the point where I have goosebumps appearing on my skin when I am listening to her number 3 track song called "Not Another Girl". It amazes me how motivated she is and how she can write about such deep life experiences at such a young age, and write it into a song and that touches and relate to most people. It confuses me at the same time when I think about the April that went by when she was turned down in the first round of Canadian Idol.
My best friend and I had waited in line with her for 3 hours at Dundas Square, raining in the freezing cold with a gut feeling knowing that she would definitely make the first round of Canadian Idol. As she went through to her first audition, friends and family had to wait and step aside. My best friend and I walked 2 hours of laps inside the Eaton Centre mall, killing time and wondering whether or not she had made it through, and waiting for her call to confirm that she did. A total of 5 hours later, I received a phone call from her saying that no one in the one group she sang with made it, even though they were supposed to choose 3 out of the group of 5. I was in shock while I listened to her on the phone, telling me how confused she was, since she didn't even miss a note on the "Killing Me Softly" song that she chose to sing and telling me about the other people who heard her practicing raving about how beautiful her voice was.
My boyfriend and I picked her up from Dundas Square and brought her back to my apartment in Toronto. I was actually surprised to how well she took it, telling me that this experience was going to push her to become the musician she wants to be and will be. Sylvia Nguyen doesn't need a show like Canadian Idol to help her become discovered. Canadian Idol contestants are mostly singers, contestants who sing the songs of other musicians. They don't write songs and they don't touch people in the way Sylvia Nguyen can.
As I sat in my living room, I watched my sister sit in my bedroom alone with the guitar, sadly singing and playing soulfully, probably writing a song about the whole experience. This girl looked so determined that I know....a couple of years down the road, she will no longer be an undiscovered s
tar.
I know a talented young 17 year old girl who has the vocals of Mariah Carey and writes deep meaningful lyrics that express the experiences of a young woman. At the age of 3 she started singing and entered talent competitions at the age of 10. At the age of 13 she picked up the guitar, google searched guitar chords and taught herself how to play. She wrote her first song in 15 minutes at the age of 15 when she was told she had her first gig at the Executive Snooker Club in Mississauga just so she can have one non-cover song to play.
This girl I know happens to be my younger half sister, Sylvia Nguyen. I know that most of you think that I am being a biased, but I'm not. I know an amazing voice when I hear it, I know a catchy song when it touches my soul to the point where I have goosebumps appearing on my skin when I am listening to her number 3 track song called "Not Another Girl". It amazes me how motivated she is and how she can write about such deep life experiences at such a young age, and write it into a song and that touches and relate to most people. It confuses me at the same time when I think about the April that went by when she was turned down in the first round of Canadian Idol.
My best friend and I had waited in line with her for 3 hours at Dundas Square, raining in the freezing cold with a gut feeling knowing that she would definitely make the first round of Canadian Idol. As she went through to her first audition, friends and family had to wait and step aside. My best friend and I walked 2 hours of laps inside the Eaton Centre mall, killing time and wondering whether or not she had made it through, and waiting for her call to confirm that she did. A total of 5 hours later, I received a phone call from her saying that no one in the one group she sang with made it, even though they were supposed to choose 3 out of the group of 5. I was in shock while I listened to her on the phone, telling me how confused she was, since she didn't even miss a note on the "Killing Me Softly" song that she chose to sing and telling me about the other people who heard her practicing raving about how beautiful her voice was.
My boyfriend and I picked her up from Dundas Square and brought her back to my apartment in Toronto. I was actually surprised to how well she took it, telling me that this experience was going to push her to become the musician she wants to be and will be. Sylvia Nguyen doesn't need a show like Canadian Idol to help her become discovered. Canadian Idol contestants are mostly singers, contestants who sing the songs of other musicians. They don't write songs and they don't touch people in the way Sylvia Nguyen can.
As I sat in my living room, I watched my sister sit in my bedroom alone with the guitar, sadly singing and playing soulfully, probably writing a song about the whole experience. This girl looked so determined that I know....a couple of years down the road, she will no longer be an undiscovered s
tar.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Waiting Game
Have you guys ever played The Waiting Game? Many of you have played this game but never realized you were playing the game. It's like phoning a guy you went on a date with and you're waiting for his phone call and he never calls you back. It's like asking your friend to pay you back for the $300 he or she borrowed. Then you find yourself just waiting, waiting and waiting.
"The Waiting Game" is a game to make you forget that you are waiting for something. It's a game that makes you wait to the point where you don't even want to wait anymore so that you forget about it. If you're waiting for that one guy to call you back, you should just forget about it, cause hunny, he's not calling you back. Just accept the fact that he's not interested and move on.
If you still find your self nagging that one friend about the $300 he or she borrowed, just drop him/her as a friend. Losing a friendship is a bigger loss to them than $300.
When you put a stop to waiting, you'll end up winning "The Waiting Game" .
"The Waiting Game" is a game to make you forget that you are waiting for something. It's a game that makes you wait to the point where you don't even want to wait anymore so that you forget about it. If you're waiting for that one guy to call you back, you should just forget about it, cause hunny, he's not calling you back. Just accept the fact that he's not interested and move on.
If you still find your self nagging that one friend about the $300 he or she borrowed, just drop him/her as a friend. Losing a friendship is a bigger loss to them than $300.
When you put a stop to waiting, you'll end up winning "The Waiting Game" .
Active Child
So, I drove by my old neighborhood not too long ago. I was quite surprised when I saw a total of 3 children playing outside on the street. I remember back when I was living there (I lived there for 10 years) there were 15 to 20 children playing outside. You would find different age groups playing tag, riding bikes, playing street hockey and baseball until the streetlights came on. There was always someone outside yelling for me through my window asking me to come out to play. I would rush through my chores (mopping only half the floor) to race outside to go play a game of street hockey, even if it was just one game.
At my parents house now, there aren't many children who play outside either. I started to tell myself that it is probably because there aren't many children who live on the street. But I've noticed that with a lot of streets that I drive by, there are hardly any children laying outside. The park is now a dessert.
Then it all started coming to me. I am 25 years old now, we didn't have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, No video games at all, No 99 channels, No Pay TV, No Cable, No DVD movies or surround sound. We had no mobile phones, text messaging, personal computers or internet chat rooms. We live in a world now that is surrounded with hi-tech technology. Most children are inside playing the newest game their parents bought for them, watching some reality show on channel 103, or talking on MSN with their friends rather than playing outside. No wonder weight is such an issue for children these days. They're all inside playing with technology instead of outside getting active.
I remember when I was 10, I was able to eat a whole pizza to myself, that's because I burned so much calories running around outside, that the 7 slices of pizza I had shoved in my mouth, had already burned off by the time I got to my last slice.
There are many parents that think that the mix of children and technology is harmless because its keeps them inside the house and out of trouble. They are wrong, it is very harmful to raise your children and not teach them about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. In the long run they will end up with health problems and end up being overweight wondering why they are they way they are.
Enroll your children into sports, encourage them to go play outside with the neighbors children, even if it's just for an hour a day. An hour a day, can change their life.
At my parents house now, there aren't many children who play outside either. I started to tell myself that it is probably because there aren't many children who live on the street. But I've noticed that with a lot of streets that I drive by, there are hardly any children laying outside. The park is now a dessert.
Then it all started coming to me. I am 25 years old now, we didn't have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, No video games at all, No 99 channels, No Pay TV, No Cable, No DVD movies or surround sound. We had no mobile phones, text messaging, personal computers or internet chat rooms. We live in a world now that is surrounded with hi-tech technology. Most children are inside playing the newest game their parents bought for them, watching some reality show on channel 103, or talking on MSN with their friends rather than playing outside. No wonder weight is such an issue for children these days. They're all inside playing with technology instead of outside getting active.
I remember when I was 10, I was able to eat a whole pizza to myself, that's because I burned so much calories running around outside, that the 7 slices of pizza I had shoved in my mouth, had already burned off by the time I got to my last slice.
There are many parents that think that the mix of children and technology is harmless because its keeps them inside the house and out of trouble. They are wrong, it is very harmful to raise your children and not teach them about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. In the long run they will end up with health problems and end up being overweight wondering why they are they way they are.
Enroll your children into sports, encourage them to go play outside with the neighbors children, even if it's just for an hour a day. An hour a day, can change their life.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Continuing growth in a career of Marketing
So, I'm starting this blog to gain more knowledge, experience and network with other professionals in the field of Marketing. What kind of marketing you ask? There are many streams of Marketing that range from "so boring", "boring", "it alright" and "man, that's so wicked" I am currently at the "so boring" stage of my career where I feel like I should branch out in a different stream of Marketing.
The new Buzz that I'm starting to get into is this Social Media, or shall I say....Web 2.0.
What's this new stuff all about anyways?
The new Buzz that I'm starting to get into is this Social Media, or shall I say....Web 2.0.
What's this new stuff all about anyways?
Welcome to my Blog
Just wanted to post this first blog and welcome everyone to my new blog. As you can tell, this my first blog (can you tell from the Blogger template I stole and the lack of interesting information on my page?).
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
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